After hearing from more residents in the Stone Ridge development, Allen Township Board of Supervisors decided a pedestrian easement and path connecting the residential neighborhood to nearby commercial development will remain open.

Supervisors voted unanimously at the March 24 meeting to leave the easement as is, meaning the existing path will also remain.

At the board’s Feb. 24 meeting, Marc Francola, a resident in the Stone Ridge development, asked supervisors to eliminate the easement for pedestrian access that created a path out from the development onto Stonegate Road.

The path creates security and privacy concerns for his family and others in the neighborhood as currently constructed, Francola said in February.

Township officials sent letters to Stone Ridge residents to solicit more opinions on the matter, township Manager Ilene Eckhart said.

“As we discussed previously, it was not 100% across the board,” Eckhart said, referencing a summary of the survey results provided to supervisors. “There was a mixed bag of responses to that question. Some people were strongly in favor of it. They use it (to go) from the development (to the businesses). Some don’t like the existence of it.”

After reviewing residents’ input, commissioners agreed the path should remain open.

“I think it should stay after people came out and said they use it, especially elderly people [who] said they’re not sure if they could walk out to Savage Road if we took the path out,” board Vice Chairman Paul Link said.

The survey responses also indicated some residents in the development plan to use the path more in the future as commercial development in the area expands, supervisors noted.

In other action from the March 24 meeting, supervisors voted unanimously to grant staff permission to begin planning a trunk or treat in the township for a to-be-determined date in October.

This comes after March’s township Easter egg hunt proved very popular and successful, officials said. Supervisors thanked township staff and other volunteers for helping to make the event happen.

Supervisors also voted unanimously to make a conditional offer of employment to an individual for the position of director of public works. Supervisors did not identify the candidate at the meeting.

Supervisors voted unanimously to release $51,590.07 to Mohawk Contracting and Development LLC for the first phase of the Allen Township Municipal Building renovation project.

The next board of supervisors meeting will be held 6 p.m. April 14 at the municipal building, 50 Snow Hill Road.